The U.S. Post Office in Walled Lake, MI. (Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive)
With millions of gifts being sent through the mail this holiday season, the U.S. Postal Service is warning of an ongoing scam that targets you through a text message and involves messages about packages coming to your home. The scam known as “smishing” aims for the criminal to obtain personally identifiable information such as account usernames and passwords, Social Security number, date of birth, credit and debit card numbers, personal identification numbers (PINs), or other sensitive information, according to the USPS.
The scam works by sending a text message to the victim that indicates a package was unable to be delivered or more information is needed in order to deliver the package. The victim is then asked to click a link that is included in the message, where you may again be asked to provide personal information.
USPS officials say that you should not click on the link, especially if the text was unsolicited and came from an unknown number. While the USPS does offer tracking services that include text message updates, those messages are only sent after a user signs up to receive them and provides a tracking number as part of the signup process. The USPS will never contact a customer through text or email without a customer signing up to do so.
If you believe you’ve received a smishing message, you can report it to the USPS by sending the following information to the United States Postal Inspection Service scam email:
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